Keep
your fonts, graphics and pictures to a minimum.
The size of
your graphics will affect your loading time and that's why a lot of
pages have almost zero graphics. Background
colors DO count as graphics and do add to the loading time. Use the default font,
where possible and your page backgrounds white. If you want to have a
background use plain and simple backgrounds or simply watermarks. Don't
overcrowd your site, too many people are turned off
by sites loaded with unnecessary "junk". Test the load
time for your own site, ask for feedback from your friends who may have
different ISP's, browsers and hardware. Ask for their objective opinion on
the load-time, quality, graphical presentation and content of your site.
Get them also to test links and any forms you may have included on your
Web.
Software
tools are available to list your Web file sizes, and show the time in
seconds to load each page using modems operating at different speeds(
inbuilt in most Web editors). If you are aware that some pages are
loading very slowly, have a look at the content. Sometimes it may only
be a matter of cutting long text pages and pasting to an additional
page. If you are reliant on having a lot of "bells and
whistles" on your site because of your theme or product, you'll
just have to live with the fact that some pages will load slowly.
Your
"home" page however, should definitely not be slow to
load, otherwise you'll lose your reader from day one!
Clipart
sites are an example of slow-loading webs, to be expected because of the
high graphic content, and if you really want to view the site contents
you just have to wait. C'est la vie! Some clipart site webmasters
reduce this problem by limiting the number of graphics per
page.
How
Frames can effect your promotional and marketing efforts: There
are pros and cons to using frames in your web site. Let's look at
some of them - frames technology allows you to have one or more web
pages on your screen at the same time. Typically a frames site will
include a navigation menu down the side or across the top, with the main
or contents page filling the rest of the screen, however, you can include
3, 4 5, or more frames if
there is any advantage to your site in doing so.
Advantages of Frames:
Audio
and Video Presentations: Are becoming more common,
particularly on Company sites. But, if you are building your own site
they will only increase the complexity of the site build and design. you
will have to have a download of the necessary plug-ins on your site. It
takes time to download plug-ins if your visitor does not have them
already. Bear in mind not all of the reader's PC's will have the
capabilities of running these sophisticated presentations.
A basic Powerpoint (or similar application)
presentation can be just as effective, with your visitors having the
option of moving through it at an automated or self-paced time frame.
Do
all your links work?
Nothing
to the web user can be more frustrating than to go to a link to find the
link doesn't work. Test all your links thoroughly after the web site is finished
and also after you have published your site on the web. Get several
friends with different browsers and servers to log into your site and
give you a critical appraisal of all the above points.
There
are online services to provide you with a site inspection in a
variety of areas. They will check for broken links, bad html, browser
compatibility and some provide a gif analysis. Although it is a "pay
for" service they are selling , they do offer a FREE check for one page. Which means if you are patient enough or only have a small site
you can get it all done for free. If you intend to have a graphic
intensive site (like like my banners pages) then a gif analysis is a
necessity.
I have included some site inspection services in Software -
Web
Site Size: When applying for a free or paid web site or
hosting, firstly, take into
consideration the provider's physical limitations as to the space
provided. Will the physical size of the site offered be adequate for the
site you want to build? Keep in mind that your site will inevitably grow
in time with add-ons, updates and improvements. Each Web page is created
using HTML and will have a physical file size, as will your images
- each time you open a web page the entire file of HTML and graphics
instructions is downloaded from the site. Read the fine
print and check out the limitations for site size, download space
available and bytes transferred via your site. You will probably incur a
penalty fee if you exceed the space allotted for your web and file
transfers.
Domain
Names:
While some experts insist that you have your own Domain
name if you want to succeed on the Web, be aware that there is usually a
cost attached to having your own domain name, paid either as a one-off
or monthly subscription. However, free domain
hosting is available, but there are generally requirements by the
providers to list banners, advertising links etc. on your site.
Redirection services are also available, where you may not get a domain
name exactly of your choosing but probably pretty close to what you may
want it to be.
Your
intention should be to start
your business as cost-effectively as possible by utilizing free
resources wherever you can. If you can afford it, spend some money on your
own domain name or, flag it for the future. (some domain names are
available for as little as $9 for a full year?)
When
you are ready to start designing your Web site, list the purpose of your
site, write down the key elements that are directly related to the
product, opportunity or service that you are promoting. Draw a plan of the
structure of your site - how many pages do you plan to have? What will
the theme be? Will you include banners, graphics, video, audio and etc. The list can be formidable.
Start small - you will always want to improve your site once you are comfortable with your newly-acquired
skills and first efforts.
Be
consistent with the layout of your pages, chopping and changing your
layout from page to page could lead to confusion and difficulties in
navigating your Web.
Do
you intend to design and build your own Web? Will you create your web using HTML,
Frontpage or other editors? Your alternative is to pay ( what a dirty
word!) for the creation of your site. Keep in mind that even some free
web site providers have Web page templates ready for you to build
on. Using a template simplifies the creation process but you will have
limitations that may restrict your planned web theme, forms, plug-ins
and so on. If you are planning to include forms for
feedback, surveys, Java Applets etc. you will need to establish whether
or not your web site host's server supports CGI scripts, Perl, Java
etc.
If
you are designing
and building your own web make sure you are prepared to commit some time
to this task. Many decisions and versions Mark I, II, III or more may be
necessary to get the right mix of background color, font and font sizes,
headings and banners, number of columns, navigation bar to the left or
right, web and page structure, links, forms, counters, graphics - the
list seems endless - so prepare yourself for some heavy thinking and
frustration along the way - then delight and satisfaction when you view
the finished product.
Browser
Compatibility: All web pages are written with HTML
(Hypertext Markup Language.) HTML lets you format text, add
graphics, sound and video, and save it all in a Text Only or ASCII file
that any computer can read.
Hypertext
means you can create a link in a Web page that leads the visitor to any
Web page or to practically anything else on the Internet. Virtually any
computer can read a Web page, regardless if you are using a Macintosh,
Apple, Windows etc. computer. Html web pages, whilst available to
everyone, can be displayed differently depending on the type of
computer, monitor, speed of the Internet connection and lastly, the
Browser.
The most popular browsers today are Netscape Communicator and
Internet Explorer.
Different setups mean that your Web pages will be
viewed differently, standardization has been, and continues to be a
major issue in browser compatibility. To access a listing go to
Statmark's site which offers statistics that reveal how many users are
using which browsers, on which platforms, with what kind of monitors, on
which day of the week and at what time! extremely useful information.
http://www.statmark.com
I
recommend that you if you don't already have a basic knowledge of HTML,
spend a bit of spare time and get a text or online reference to learn
it. (there are HTML
tutorials available on the HTML page) Of
course if you are going to design and build your own site you will need
to have more than a basic knowledge of HTML. (HTML
tools, tutorials are included in HTML, Hex,text page)
I
suggest you Name
all your Web files using lower-case, some servers will accept both upper
and lower-case but avoid confusion by just using lower-case as your
standard.
You
will need to address issues such as browser support for Java, CSS, DHTML
and also the limitations of your host server e.g. - are CGI, Java,
or Frontpage server extensions supported?
The
end result is that it becomes a matter of designing your Web pages to
appear as close to the way you want them to be viewed by the majority of
visitors. For a look at compatibility and testing between browsers see:
http://www.cookwood.com/browsers_tests/
Finally-
Once you have finalized your Web, preview it in your browser. It's
probably easier to preview each page as you complete it and correct any
problems as you go along. If you are comfortable with the end result,
you can upload your Web to your host server. In order for other people
on the Internet to see your pages, you have to upload them to your Web
host's server. One easy way to this is with an FTP (file transfer
protocol) program, like WS_FTP for Windows. I use this program and find
it straight forward to use and user-friendly because of its file
management capabilities and viewing options including a log file.
Check
your Web for typo's, grammar and spelling (use a spell-checker if you have one,
if not, there are free ones on the HTML, text editor
page) and
any other errors that you may have over-looked. If your web isn't too
big, print out your text pages if they are intended to be printed out by
your reader and do a final edit. If you are lucky enough to be able to
edit your pages online, great, it makes it so much easier!
When
you are ready to launch your site you have reached the easiest stage of
the entire website creation experience. Why the easiest? Because by now
all the hard work is over. You have checked all your links, optimized
your graphics, checked all your text for grammar and spelling errors and
have attended to any other items that needed editing.
So, launch away...but don't expect immediate results...it takes from 1 -
8 weeks for the engines to find you.. IF they ever will... But how
should you submit?? The internet is awash with adverts offering to
submit your site to 350 or 500 or even 1,000 engines!!
My advice, if you are serious about your site, is to submit manually to
the top 10 search engines initially. They all have different requirements so each
needs to be handled individually.
View your web frequently as you will find that you will
always want to improve and update it. If you are providing information, update it regularly to
keep your return visitors interested (remember, you want them to refer
others to your site as well.) If you have a product or opportunity,
inform your visitors as to what's happening within the business and
what's new. Browsing around you will often see aspects of other web
pages that you might like to use to liven up your own site, or functions to
improve your site's performance, AND check your links on a regular basis,
there may be dead or broken links that need to be removed or repaired. Your editor may have a
built-in function to report and/or repair broken links, if not, then
preview in your browser and test all your links.
Web
site headings are covered in Search Engines and Meta-Tags on the
next page.
